A TELEVISION advert for an “Ahmed the dead terrorist” ringtone mocked Islam and must be withdrawn, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled.

The ruling followed a complaint against the GloMobile advertisement that shows American stand-up comedian Jeff Durham holding a skeleton puppet named Ahmed with a white cloth around its head, which demands : “Silence! I kill you”.

The ASA said this was offensive to Islam and created the impression that all Muslims were terrorists who would kill to get people to be quiet.

The ASA said it appeared the puppet was meant to represent a terrorist, and t he name Ahmed appeared to be of Arab origin and was one of the names of the Islamic prophet Mohammed.

“To associate this divine inspiration to a terrorist is offensive to the people who believe in him (Mohammed).”

The ASA ordered GloMobile to withdraw the advert . — Sapa